of congress. the tax bill compromise, whether you like it or no the unemployment extension. the repel of don't ask, don't tell. the food safety bill. and on the verge of s.t.a.r.t. and told tonight by senator schumer there will be a vote for the 9/11 responders tomorrow in the senate. what do you make of all of this? >> well, i think it shows us, ed what a smart strategy it was for the republicans to become the party of no because they decided, you know, the minute president obama was inaugurated that if they could tie him up if they could tie him in knots and prevent him from moving forward and helping the country move forward they can would do well politically and that happened. now that we have seen a little bit of progress, you and i did not like the tax cut compromise but we will leave that aside for the moment, you're seeing this people have more optimism and people think that the president's doing a good job because he is getting the tools, he is getting the votes to take action on things that the country believes should happen. >> so, the numbers are encouraging. so what is this -- does this set the table for president obama to turn back to his base and say, look what we've done.